What's that smell? Oh it's us....

Continuing on the month long Yoloing adventure of the South Island, we arrived in Queenstown and got ready to start our first multi day tramp (that is kiwi speak for hike)- The Routeburn. The day we started the tramp was a little rocky, to say the least. We started the morning, bright eyed and ready for our first tramp, despite a foreboding weather forecast, calling for rain and wind.
11am we waited on the street for our shuttle to pick us up.
11:30 we were told the shuttle was on its way, just a little late.
1pm still no shuttle, and now we have rain.
2:30pm involved a mad dash to the city centre to book the last shuttle out of Queenstown to the start of the hike, because clearly our 11am pick up was a no show.
2:45pm sampling free fudge because the last shuttle is actually at 3:30pm.
3:00pm fifty cent cones at McDonalds.
3:30pm FINALLY off to start our three day, two night hike- luckily the first day’s hike was marked for 2.5 hours, but an easy hour hike for the Yoloers.

Meet Rudy (our tent). You have already met her in a previous post, but she gained a lot of character after Routeburn. In good weather, Rudy is happy. Notice how she is enjoying our first nights campsite. Notice also how its not raining or windy- these are Rudy’s favorite conditions.


Routeburn Flats Valley from the hike on day two. The Valley is where we camped the first night, and although it was in Rudy, you have to admit we have a knack for picking prime real estate.


These are the luxury villas, and the luxurious views, we stumbled upon after packing up Rudy to start our second day hiking. This is where you stay when you have money- aka forty dollars- but we prefer sleeping in the close knit quarters of Rudy for ten dollars.


Maggie and Caitlin on top of Harris Saddle. We made it to the highest point of the hike, and a good lunch spot. Please note the scary looking clouds in the background, because we didn’t.

The other side of Harris Saddle. Look, X already has her lunch out, when she should have her raincoat out, also not aware of the clouds facing her.

After lunch, those scary clouds opened up and our views turned into a white abyss, but in true yolo fashion we tramped on. Please notice the superb rain gear we brought with us, because also in true yolo fashion, we decided to maximize the efficiency of the weight in our packs, by nixing the clothes (because we are sure you have realized we are wearing the same outfit in every photo and those to come) and doubling the food.


We reached night two’s campsite location (down by Lake Mackensie). The weather let up for a bit, but it came back that night……

Ever seen the movie Twister? Welcome to night number two in Rudy. Rudy doesn’t like bad weather, especially when you can hear the wind coming around the mountain before it actually hits. But in the movie Twister, the characters were safe in a basement. We were in Rudy, who is temperamental in this weather. Throw buckets of rain into the picture and you get our 4:30am wake up call. As Nick is assuring us, the tent is not going to be blown away, X is saying “I hear the wind coming” and Maggie screams “Brace Rudy!” and as the wind whips around the corner while the rain crashes down on Rudy, Rudy is lifted up off the ground, leaving Caitlin screaming “I can see daylight!” The wind passes, and we are in a fit of giggles, probably out of nerves, as we hear more wind on its way. Inevitably, we had to pack up Rudy and make a run for it, trying to complete the last five hour leg of the tramp.


The only photo of day three on Routeburn. This was taken shortly before Maggie (in bottom left corner) took her own fall in Earland Falls- not that it made her anymore wet, we were already soaked. But no worries, everyone fell once on the way down.

We finished the tramp- but clearly not unscathed. X knows this picture is heinous, but for the good of the Yoloers, put it on the post just so all of you avid readers at home can know how awful the last day of the hike was.
Upon reaching the end of the track, we expected to be welcomed by a shelter and a shuttle. To our dismay, we were welcomed by a roof on stilts and no shuttle. Once again, we found ourselves waiting for the shuttle. Lucky for the Yoloers, Maggie brushed her hair and pounced on an unsuspecting pit stopper, and hitched us a ride (and a new friend) to Te Anau.


Two hours later in Te Anau. Isn’t it amazing what a shower and a little sunlight can do. Despite the bad weather, the yoloers successfully completed their first multi day tramp- go us.

Back to traveling Yoloers style, we searched for the free activities in Te Anau. We found the only thing to do was the Wildlife Center, aka cages with common bird species. This was the one rare find- the grand finale of the bird center, the Takahe. There are only 200 in the world, and there were 3 in this cage- that’s right we saw 1.5% of the population.


Seeing that there was nothing else for free to do, the Yoloers were left with few options as to what to do from Te Anau. The locals said there were shuttles they could take to see the Catlins coast and Milford Sound, but shuttles= bad news for the Yoloers, so we opted to rent a car.

Yay! We made it to the sunny coast. Nick and Maggie are enjoying the seaside breeze in the sun.

The next stop on the tour of the Catlins was Nugget Point, the southern most lighthouse in the world.

On our road trip, we found Porpoise Bay. Most people fork out hundreds to swim with dolphins; yet, once again, in true yoloer fashion we found where you can swim with them for free. Zoom in behind Christine to find the Hector dolphins in the waves (you can only see their fins, but they are there, we swear).


Pak 'N Save, another one of our favorite NZ fixes. We discovered at 7:00 pm this one puts all the bakery items on sale for 99 cents. Needless to say the manager had to take away the cart because we were taking too many items.


There are many uses for a rental car, one being a kitchen. What you cannot see is we are still in the Pak 'N Save parking lot. We even considered pitching Rudy next to the car but the time limit was only an hour and a half.

As with any New Zealand road trip, you must stop for at least one sheep crossing.

Sheep out number people 35:1. This pic captures the roadside view for a majority of the drive. We are pretty sure we have seen enough sheep to last a lifetime.


Next excursion with the rental was Milford Road where were hiked Gertrude saddle for a view of the Milford Sound. Here’s the valley in Gertrude Saddle. Do you see a path? Cause neither did we. Maybe because there wasn't one, unless you count stone markers.


Where’s Waldo aka Christine? Look between the two snow patches (zoom a lot) and you will see we still hadn't discovered a path. This hike allowed us to officially add "alpine mountaineering" to our resume.


At the top of Gertrude Saddle. Milford Sound, NZ's most prized natural wonder, in the background. Wish you were here? Well we were. YOLO

A little treat from us to you...

Last stop: Milford sound. We didn’t pay for the cruise but we still saw fabulous views.

This leg of our journey was clearly adventurous and worth our while but it did leave us with some interesting statistics

Days afoot: 7
Magic Bus rides: 0
Kilometers driven: 1000
Nights in Rudy: 3.5
Sandfly bites: 72 (But all on Maggie and Caitlin)
Blisters: 13 (Half on Christine)
Tumbles down the mountain: 1+ per Yoloer
Meals out of a bag: all of them
Days un-showered: 6 (And we wonder why we have trouble making friends while traveling)